Matthew 8-16

New American Standard Bible

Jesus Cleanses a Man with Leprosy

8 When ^[a]Jesus came down from the mountain, ^[b]large crowds followed Him. ² And ^(A)a man with ^[c]leprosy came to Him and ^[d](B)bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ^3 [e]Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his ^(C)leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus *said to him, “^(D)See that you tell no one; but ^(E)go, ^(F)show yourself to the priest and present the ^[f]offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The Centurion’s Faith

⁵ And ^(G)when ^[g]Jesus entered Capernaum, a ^[h]centurion came to Him, begging Him, ⁶ and saying, “^[i]Lord, my ^[j]servant is lying ^(H)paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.” ⁷ Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion replied, “^[k]Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just ^[l]say the word, and my ^[m]servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under ^(I)authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith ^[n]with anyone in Israel. ¹¹ And I say to you that many ^(J)will come from east and west, and ^[o]recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but ^(K)the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into ^(L)the outer darkness; in that place ^(M)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; ^[p]it shall be done for you ^(N)as you have believed.” And the ^[q]servant was healed at that very ^[r]moment.

Peter’s Mother-in-law and Many Others Healed

^14 (O)When Jesus came into Peter’s ^[s]home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and ^[t]waited on Him. ¹⁶ Now when evening came, they brought to Him many ^(P)who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and ^(Q)healed all who were ill. ¹⁷ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: “^(R)He Himself took our illnesses and ^[u]carried away our diseases.”

Discipleship Tested

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, ^(S)He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. ^19 (T)Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰ And Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(U)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ²¹ And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus *said to him, “^(V)Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

^23 (W)When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And behold, a ^[v]violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. ²⁵ And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “^(X)Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” ²⁶ He *said to them, “Why are you ^[w]afraid, ^(Y)you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and ^[x]it became perfectly calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus Sends Demons into Pigs

^28 (Z)And when He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two ^(AA)demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. ²⁹ And they cried out, saying, “^[y](AB)What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before ^[z]the time?” ³⁰ Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³² And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the pigs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and ^[aa]drowned in the waters. ³³ And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, ^[ab]including what had happened to the ^(AC)demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, ^(AD)they pleaded with Him to leave their region.

A Paralyzed Man Healed

9 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to ^(AE)His own city.

^2 (AF)And they brought to Him a ^(AG)paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “^(AH)Take courage, ^[ac]son; ^(AI)your sins are forgiven.” ³ And some of the scribes said ^[ad]to themselves, “This man is ^(AJ)blaspheming!” ⁴ And Jesus, ^(AK)perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘^(AL)Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But so that you may know that ^(AM)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He *said to the ^(AN)paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.” ⁷ And he got up and ^[ae]went home. ⁸ But when the crowds saw this, they were ^[af]awestruck, and they ^(AO)glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Matthew Called

^9 (AP)As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called ^(AQ)Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He *said to him, “^(AR)Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

¹⁰ Then it happened that as ^[ag]Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and ^[ah]sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “^(AS)Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” ¹² But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not ^(AT)those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Now go and learn ^[ai](AU)what this means: ‘^(AV)I desire ^[aj]compassion, ^[ak]rather than sacrifice,’ for ^(AW)I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Question about Fasting

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and ^(AX)the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, “The ^[al]attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶ But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for ^[am]the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. ¹⁷ Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Miracles of Healing

^18 (AY)While He was saying these things to them, behold, ^[an]a synagogue ^[ao]official came and ^[ap](AZ)bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will become alive again.” ¹⁹ Jesus got up from the table and began to accompany him, along with His disciples.

²⁰ And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched ^(BA)the ^[aq]border of His ^[ar]cloak; ²¹ for she was ^[as]saying ^[at]to herself, “If I only ^(BB)touch His cloak, I will ^[au]get well.” ²² But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, ^(BC)take courage; ^(BD)your faith has ^[av]made you well.” And ^[aw]at once the woman was ^[ax]made well.

²³ When Jesus came into the ^[ay]official’s house and saw ^(BE)the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, ²⁴ He said, “Leave; for the girl ^(BF)has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. ²⁵ But ^(BG)when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and ^(BH)took her by the hand, and the girl ^[az]got up. ²⁶ And ^(BI)this news spread throughout that land.

²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, ^(BJ)Son of David!” ²⁸ And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” ²⁹ Then He touched their eyes, saying, “^[ba]It shall be done for you ^(BK)according to your faith.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus ^(BL)sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!” ³¹ But they went out and ^(BM)spread the news about Him throughout that land.

³² And as they were going out, behold, ^(BN)a ^(BO)demon-possessed man who was unable to speak ^[bb]was brought to Him. ³³ And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “^(BP)Nothing like this has ever ^[bc]been seen in Israel.” ³⁴ But the Pharisees were saying, “He ^(BQ)casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

³⁵ Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, ^(BR)teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

^36 (BS)Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, ^(BT)because they were ^[bd]distressed and downcast, like sheep ^[be]without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then He *said to His disciples, “^(BU)The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

10 Jesus ^(BV)summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to ^(BW)heal every disease and every sickness.

^2 (BX)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, ^(BY)Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother ^(BZ)Andrew; and ^[bf](CA)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother ^[bg]John; ^3 (CB)Philip and ^[bh]Bartholomew; ^(CC)Thomas and ^(CD)Matthew the tax collector; ^[bi](CE)James the son of Alphaeus, and ^(CF)Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the ^[bj]Zealot, and ^(CG)Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

^5 (CH)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road ^[bk]to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(CI)Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to ^(CJ)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[bl]preach, saying, ‘^(CK)The kingdom of heaven ^[bm]has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ^9 (CL)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[bn]bag for your journey, or even two ^[bo]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(CM)the worker is deserving of his ^[bp]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay ^[bq]at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the ^[br]house, ^(CN)give it your ^[bs]greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, ^[bt]take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴ And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, ^(CO)shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(CP)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(CQ)Sodom and Gomorrah on ^(CR)the day of judgment, than for that city.

A Hard Road Ahead of Them

¹⁶ “^(CS)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as ^(CT)wary as serpents, and as ^(CU)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the ^(CV)courts and flog you ^(CW)in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (CX)But when they hand you over, ^(CY)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. ²⁰ For ^(CZ)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking ^[bu]in you.

²¹ “Now ^(DA)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and ^(DB)children will rise up against parents and ^[bv]cause them to be put to death. ²² And ^(DC)you will be hated by all because of My name, but ^(DD)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “But whenever they ^(DE)persecute you in ^[bw]one city, flee to the ^[bx]next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel ^(DF)until the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “^(DG)A ^[by]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. ^(DH)If they have called the head of the house ^[bz](DI)Beelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!

²⁶ “So do not ^(DJ)fear them, ^(DK)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ^27 (DL)What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim ^(DM)on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather ^(DN)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[ca](DO)hell. ^29 (DP)Are two sparrows not sold for an ^[cb]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(DQ)even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹ So do not fear; ^(DR)you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

³² “Therefore, ^(DS)everyone who ^[cc]confesses Me before people, I will also confess ^[cd]him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But ^(DT)whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “^(DU)Do not think that I came to ^[ce]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to ^[cf]bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to ^(DV)turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and ^(DW)a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.

³⁷ “^(DX)The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And ^(DY)the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39 (DZ)The one who has found his ^[cg]life will lose it, and the one who has lost his ^[ch]life on My account will find it.

The Reward for Service

⁴⁰ “^(EA)The one who ^[ci]receives you ^[cj]receives Me, and ^(EB)the one who ^[ck]receives Me ^[cl]receives Him who sent Me. ^41 (EC)The one who ^[cm]receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who ^[cn]receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And ^(ED)whoever gives one of these ^[co]little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

John’s Questions

11 ^(EE)When Jesus had finished ^[cp]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there ^(EF)to teach and ^[cq]preach in their cities.

^2 (EG)Now while in prison, ^(EH)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, ³ and said to Him, “Are You ^(EI)the Coming One, or are we to ^[cr]look for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ^5 (EJ)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the ^(EK)poor have the ^[cs]gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is ^[ct]any person who ^(EL)does not ^[cu]take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷ As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into ^(EM)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ^8 [cv]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ^[cw]palaces! ^9 [cx]But what did you go out to see? ^(EN)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it ^[cy]is written:

¹¹ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² And ^(EP)from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ^(EQ)Elijah who ^[da]was to come. ^15 (ER)The one who has ears to hear, ^[db]let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷ and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not ^[dc]mourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither ^(ES)eating nor ^(ET)drinking, and they say, ‘^(EU)He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[dd]heavy drinker, ^(EV)a friend of tax collectors and ^[de]sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Unrepenting Cities

²⁰ Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His ^[df](EW)miracles were done, because they did not repent. ²¹ “^(EX)Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(EY)Bethsaida! For if the ^[dg]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(EZ)Tyre and ^(FA)Sidon, they would have repented long ago in ^[dh](FB)sackcloth and ashes. ²² Nevertheless I say to you, ^(FC)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on ^(FD)the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, ^(FE)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be ^(FF)brought down to ^(FG)Hades! For if the ^[di]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(FH)Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Nevertheless I say to you that ^(FI)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(FJ)Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

^25 [dj](FK)At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, ^(FL)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(FM)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶ Yes, ^(FN)Father, for this way was well pleasing in Your sight. ^27 (FO)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father ^(FP)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.

²⁸ “^(FQ)Come to Me, all ^[dk]who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and ^(FR)learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ^(FS)you will find ^[dl]rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(FT)My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

Sabbath Questions

12 ^[dm](FU)At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^(FV)pick the heads of grain and eat. ² Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what ^(FW)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!” ³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions— ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and ^(FX)they ate the ^[dn]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ^[do]violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? ⁶ But I say to you that something ^(FY)greater than the temple is here. ⁷ But if you had known what this ^[dp]means: ‘^(FZ)I desire ^[dq]compassion, ^[dr]rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned ^[ds]the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

⁸ For ^(GA)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^9 (GB)Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ^[dt]Jesus, asking, “^(GC)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. ¹¹ But He said to them, “^(GD)What man ^[du]is there among you who ^[dv]has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (GE)How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ^[dw]good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^(GF)He stretched it out, and it was restored to ^[dx]normal, like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and ^[dy](GG)conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵ But Jesus, ^[dz]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^(GH)He healed them all, ¹⁶ and ^(GI)warned them not to ^[ea]tell who He was. ¹⁷ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

The Pharisees Rebuked

^22 (GQ)Then a ^(GR)demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to ^[ej]Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and ^[ek]could see. ²³ And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^(GS)Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^(GT)casts out demons only by ^[el]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

^25 (GU)And ^(GV)knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if ^(GW)Satan is casting out Satan, he ^[em]has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if ^(GX)by ^[en]Beelzebul I cast out the demons, ^(GY)by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But ^(GZ)if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

^30 (HA)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹ “^(HB)Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ^32 (HC)And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^(HD)this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

³³ “Either ^[eo]assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or ^[ep]assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for ^(HE)the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (HF)You ^[eq]offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? ^(HG)For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. ^35 (HH)The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. ³⁶ But I tell you that for every ^[er]careless word that people ^[es]speak, they will give an account of it on the ^(HI)day of judgment. ³⁷ For ^[et]by your words you will be justified, and ^[eu]by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^(HJ)we want to see a ^[ev]sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “^(HK)An evil and adulterous generation craves a ^[ew]sign; and so no ^[ex]sign will be given to it except the ^[ey]sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as ^(HL)Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will ^(HM)the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for ^(HN)three days and three nights. ^41 (HO)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^(HP)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something ^(HQ)greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (HR)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something ^(HS)greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “^(HT)Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and ^(HU)the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

^46 (HV)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^(HW)mother and ^(HX)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ [^[ez]Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] ⁴⁸ But ^[fa]Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 On that day Jesus had gone out of ^(HY)the house and was sitting ^(HZ)by the sea. ² And large crowds gathered to Him, so ^(IA)He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³ And He told them many things in ^(IB)parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Others fell ^[fb]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a ^(IC)hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. ^9 (ID)The one who has ears, ^[fc]let him hear.”

An Explanation for Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And ^[fd]Jesus answered them, “^(IE)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ^12 (IF)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while ^(IG)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And ^[fe]in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

^16 (IJ)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that ^(IK)many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

¹⁸ “^(IL)Listen then to the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears ^(IM)the ^[fj]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, ^(IN)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. ²⁰ The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the ^[fk]word, immediately he ^[fl](IO)falls away. ²² And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of ^(IP)the ^[fm]world and the ^(IQ)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it ^[fn]becomes unfruitful. ²³ But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some ^(IR)a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

Weeds among Wheat

²⁴ Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “^(IS)The kingdom of heaven ^[fo]is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed ^[fp]weeds among the wheat, and left. ²⁶ And when the ^[fq]wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. ²⁷ And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? ^[fr]How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘^[fs]An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but ^(IT)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

³¹ He presented another parable to them, saying, “^(IU)The kingdom of heaven is like ^(IV)a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; ³² and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that ^(IW)the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

³³ He spoke another parable to them: “^(IX)The kingdom of heaven is like ^[ft]leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(IY)three ^[fu]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them ^(IZ)without a parable. ³⁵ This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be ^[fv]fulfilled:

The Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then He left the crowds and went into ^(JB)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “^(JC)Explain to us the parable of the ^[fw]weeds of the field.” ³⁷ And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is ^(JD)the Son of Man, ³⁸ and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are ^(JE)the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are ^(JF)the sons of ^(JG)the evil one; ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is ^(JH)the ^[fx]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at ^(JI)the ^[fy]end of the age. ^41 (JJ)The Son of Man ^(JK)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom ^[fz]all ^(JL)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴² and they ^(JM)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(JN)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (JO)Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(JP)The one who has ears, ^[ga]let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “^(JQ)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from ^[gb]joy over it he goes and ^(JR)sells everything that he has, and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

⁴⁵ “Again, ^(JS)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, ^(JT)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at ^(JU)the ^[gc]end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and they ^(JV)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(JW)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” ⁵² And ^[gd]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

^53 (JX)When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴ And ^(JY)He came to ^[ge]His hometown and ^(JZ)began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that ^(KA)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these ^[gf]miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is ^(KB)His mother not called Mary, and His ^(KC)brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And ^(KD)His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man acquire all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took ^(KE)offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “^(KF)A prophet is not dishonored except in his ^[gg]hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many ^[gh]miracles there because of their unbelief.

John the Baptist Beheaded

14 ^[gi](KG)At that time ^[gj](KH)Herod ^[gk]the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, ² and said to his servants, “^(KI)This is John the Baptist; he himself has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³ For when ^(KJ)Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him ^(KK)in prison because of ^(KL)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. ⁴ For John had been saying to him, “^(KM)It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded ^[gl]John as ^(KN)a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of ^(KO)Herodias danced ^[gm]before them and pleased ^(KP)Herod, ⁷ so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ And after being prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹ And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths and ^[gn]his dinner guests. ¹⁰ He sent word and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ^12 [go]John’s disciples came and took away the body and buried ^[gp]it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Five Thousand Men Fed

^13 (KQ)Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the ^[gq]people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ When He came ^[gr]ashore, He ^(KR)saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and ^(KS)healed their sick.

¹⁵ Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is secluded and the hour is already past to eat; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go; you give them something to eat!” ¹⁷ They *said to Him, “We have nothing here except ^(KT)five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸ And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ And ordering the crowds to ^[gs]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looked up toward heaven. He ^(KU)blessed the food and breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces: twelve full ^(KV)baskets. ²¹ There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^22 (KW)Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. ²³ After He had sent the crowds away, ^(KX)He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was already ^[gt]a long distance from the land, ^[gu]battered by the waves; for the wind was ^[gv](KY)contrary. ²⁵ And in ^(KZ)the ^[gw]fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is ^(LA)a ghost!” And they cried out ^[gx]in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “^(LB)Take courage, ^[gy]it is I; ^(LC)do not be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if ^[gz]it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “^(LD)You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly ^(LE)God’s Son!”

^34 (LF)When they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(LG)Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place ^[ha]recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding region and brought to Him all who were sick; ³⁶ and they pleaded with Him that they might just touch ^(LH)the ^[hb]border of His cloak; and all who ^(LI)touched it were cured.

Tradition and Commandment

15 ^(LJ)Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus ^(LK)from Jerusalem and said, ² “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ^(LL)do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” ³ And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘^(LM)Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘^(LN)The one who speaks evil of father or mother is to ^[hc]be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been ^[hd]given to God,” ⁶ he is not to ^[he]honor his father or mother.’ And by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! ^11 (LQ)It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”

¹² Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were ^[hf]offended when they heard this statement?” ¹³ But He answered and said, “^(LR)Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Leave them alone; ^(LS)they are blind guides ^[hg]of blind people. And ^(LT)if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁵ Peter ^[hh]said to Him, “^(LU)Explain the parable to us.” ^16 [hi]Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is ^[hj]eliminated? ¹⁸ But ^(LV)the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. ^19 (LW)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and ^[hk]slanderous statements. ²⁰ These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21 (LX)Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of ^(LY)Tyre and ^(LZ)Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, ^(MA)Son of David; my daughter is severely ^(MB)demon-possessed.” ²³ But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^[hl]at us!” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was sent only to ^(MC)the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(MD)began ^[hm]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ Yet He answered and said, “It is not ^[hn]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, ^(ME)your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed ^[ho]at once.

Healing Crowds

^29 (MF)Departing from there, Jesus went along ^(MG)the Sea of Galilee, and after going up on the mountain, He was sitting there. ³⁰ And ^[hp]large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and ^(MH)He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs ^[hq]restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they ^(MI)glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Men Fed

^32 (MJ)Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “^(MK)I feel compassion for the ^[hr]people, because they ^[hs]have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” ³³ The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” ³⁴ And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵ And He directed the ^[ht]people to ^[hu]sit down on the ground; ³⁶ and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after ^(ML)giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large ^(MM)baskets full. ³⁸ And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

³⁹ And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into ^(MN)the boat and came to the region of ^(MO)Magadan.

Pharisees and Sadducees Test Jesus

16 ^(MP)The ^(MQ)Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and putting Jesus to the test, they ^(MR)asked Him to show them a ^[hv]sign from heaven. ² But He replied to them, “^[hw](MS)When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^(MT)You know how to discern the ^[hx]appearance of the sky, but are you unable to discern the signs of the times? ^4 (MU)An evil and adulterous generation wants a ^[hy]sign; and so a ^[hz]sign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

⁵ And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and ^(MV)beware of the ^[ia]leaven of the ^(MW)Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “^(MX)You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand nor remember ^(MY)the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up? ¹⁰ Nor ^(MZ)the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up? ¹¹ How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But ^(NA)beware of the ^[ib]leaven of the ^(NB)Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the ^[ic]leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the ^(NC)Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

^13 (ND)Now when Jesus came into the region of ^(NE)Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that ^(NF)the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(NG)John the Baptist; and others, ^[id](NH)Elijah; and still others, ^[ie]Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” ¹⁵ He *said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are ^(NI)the ^[if]Christ, ^(NJ)the Son of ^(NK)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, ^(NL)Simon ^[ig]Barjona, because ^(NM)flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are ^[ih](NN)Peter, and upon this ^[ii]rock I will build My church; and the gates of ^(NO)Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(NP)the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and ^(NQ)whatever you ^[ij]bind on earth ^[ik]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you ^[il]loose on earth ^[im]shall have been loosed in heaven.” ^20 (NR)Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was ^(NS)the ^[in]Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (NT)From that time ^[io]Jesus began to ^[ip]point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to ^(NU)suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. ²² And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “^[iq]God forbid it, Lord! This shall never ^[ir]happen to You!” ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^(NV)Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on ^[is]God’s purposes, but men’s.”

Discipleship Is Costly

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, ^(NW)take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For ^(NX)whoever wants to save his ^[it]life will lose it; but whoever loses his ^[iu]life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but ^[iv]forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the ^(NY)Son of Man ^(NZ)is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ^(OA)will then repay every person according to his ^[iw]deeds.

²⁸ “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the ^(OB)Son of Man ^(OC)coming in His kingdom.”